Rotary toothbrush



C. MCLELLAN ROTARY TOOTHBRUSH Apr. 17, 1923. 1,451,993;

Filed Dec. 27, 1920 flfatentcd Apr. i?, 3.9323,

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CHARLES MCLELLAN, O SIOUX CITY, IOVA.

Berlaar roornnnnsn.

Application :led December 27, 1920. Serial No. 433,288.

To @ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES MCLELLAN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Sioux City, in the county ofWoodbury and State of owa, have invented 4certain new and usefulimprovements in Rotary Toothbrushes; and I do declarethe following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such asWillenable oth'ersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to an improved. rotary tooth brush designed to beused either 4by dentists or individual persons, the same being of themanually operated type.

One vobject of the invention is to provide a brush wherein the means forrotating the same is so constructed and protected vthat the possib-ilityof foreign matter thrown or brushed from the teeth during the operationof the brush is, to a great extent, prevented from gathering ordepositing on said means, thus providing an extremely sanitary brush.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tooth brush including a.quick detachable brush, a flexible guard for protecting the mouth andco-acting means between the brush and guard. to permit such quickdetachment of thebrush. With this construction, the brush can'be easilyremoved after using on one person and may be thoroughly cleansed beforeagain using it on another.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device including thestructure above mentioned, the brush being of such a size that itprevents contacts of the rotar)v coupling for the brush, and adjacentmovable parts with the gums or other parts of the mouth, thus guardingagainst injury from this cause.

A further object of the invention is to provide va brush which embodiesaflexible drive shaft, a flexible casing for thesame and a' shapingsleeve surrounding the forward portion of the casing to impart adesirable shape to this end of the device, where-` by the brush can be'conveniently inserted into the mouth and properly angled to insureeffective and easy cleaning of the teeth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brush wherein theconstruction and arrangement is simple and advantageous, the parts beingso connected with one another that they can be easily separated forcleaning and repairing, and the complete device beingstrong and`endurable, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will. be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification. andin which lil'e numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same:

Figure l is a perspective view of a tooth brush constructed inaccordancewith this invention. y

Figure 2 is a sectional and elevations, the brush. l

Figure is asimilar view showing the remaining parts of the brush.

Figure et is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the means forcoupling the brush with the drive shaft.

Figure a sectional view of the coupling shaft taken on the line 5 5 oflig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of theinvention is clearly illustrated, it will be seen that the numeral ldesignates a flexible drive shaft which is housed in a flexible casingor tube 2 of substantially the saine length. Botation is imparted tosaid shaft by means of a knob 3 which is connected to the inner end orthe latter. Having quick detachable and rotatable connection with theforward end of the drive shaft is a brush fi. It is to be noted, thatthis brush is of such a size that it prevent contact of the adjacent1novable parts of the device with the gums and niouth and thus preventspossible injury. The brush may be connectedwith the shaft in many ways,but in the drawing the means shown includes a shaft 5 carrying arecessed coupling 6, the same being provided with a -counter borednon-circular socket 7 and the drive shaft including a correspondinglyshaped key 8 which is received in said socket. lilith this construction,it will be seen that the desired rotary movement will be imparted to thebrush and the latter can be quickly detached after each treatment of theteeth so that it may be thoroughly cleansed before again usingl vit.Thus, my brush is rendered very sanitary in this respect. Furthermore,with the particular kind of a coupling shown it will be seen that it ispractically impossible for any foreign matter` which is thrown againstthe parts of the device adjacent to the teeth, from depositing view,with parts of the forward portion of on these parts. Hence, my brush isrendered very sanitary in this respect also.

As before intimated, the forward end of the device is shaped to permiteasy insertion of this end into the mouth and also permitted to bearranged many various angles for insuring an effective and easy cleaningof the teeth. In carrying out this feature of the invention, a rigidcurved sleeve 9 is employed and it surrounds the forward end of thecasing 2, the outer end of this sleeve serving` as an abutment for thecoupling 6. f larried by .this sleeve and extending forwardly beyond itis a suitably shaped guard l() which serves to prevent contact of themoving metal parts of the device with the lips. l't is to be noted thatthis guard is constructed of flexible material and that it carries alaterally extending detent or lug ll, which when in operative position,extends behind the flange 6** of the coupling shaft, thus serving toretain 'the latter in operative position and permitting quickdetaclnnent thereof. A stein l2 is detachably connected with the lniob 3and this stem is provided at its outer end with a head lli receivable inthe palm of the hand.

In use, the sleeve 9 may be held with the fingers of the left hand andthe brush positioned. and properly angled in the mouth according towhichever teeth are to be cleaned. The head 14; can then be placed inthe palm of the right hand, and the fingers of this hand placed on theoperating knob 3. Now, by imparting a rotary movement to the knob 3,rotation will be imparted to the drive shaft and in turn to the brush4;. The knob 3 can be turned continuously in one direction 0r turnedback and forth as desired. lifter the brush has been used once, it canbe quickly and easily removed and cleansed by simply moving the guardl() in such a manner as to disengage the lug 11 vfrom the flange 61* ofthe coupling 6.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing is thought to be suflicient toenablepersons skilled in the art to which the invention relates, to obtain aclear understanding of the same. Therefore,

a more lengthy and detailed description is deemed unnecessary.

Advantageous and effective results may be obtained fro-1n theconstruction and arrangenient herein shown and described. Hence, thisconstruction and arrangement is taken as the preferred embodiment of theinvention. l-iowever, I wish it to bev understood that minor changesinshape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

l claim:

l. A tooth brush of the type specified embodying a flexible drive shaft,a rigid longitudinally curved sleeve removably|` arranged on the forwardend of the shaft to impart a permanent curved shape to the shaft toassist in enabling this end of the device to be readily and edect-ivelyinserted into the mouth, said sleeve snugly surrounding the shaftandlhaving its outer end terminating in spaced relation from thecorresponding end of the shaft to permit said end to additionallyfunction as a stop.

2. A rotary tooth brush comprising a flexible driving shaft, alongitudinally curved rigid sleeve surrounding the forward end of saidshaft and imparting a permanent curved shape thereto, whereby to permiteasy and effective insertion of this end of the brush into thefmouth, abrush guard carried by and extending forwardly of the shaft and curvedon a line in continuation of the shaft, and a. brush connected to theforward end of the shaft beneath said guard.

3. rl. rotary tooth brush comprising a drive shaft, a brush including ashouldered coupling head detachably connected with one end of saidshaft,a mouth guard mounted on said shaft and extending over andpartially covering the brush, and a lateral detent carried by said guardand engaging the aforesaid shoulder to retain the brush in operativeposition but permitting it to be quickly detached. l

il. A rotary tooth brush co-mprisinga drive shaft, a casing surrounding.said shaft, a brush including a'shouldered coupling headdetachablyconnected with the front end of said shaft, a sleeve mountedon said casing, a forwardly extending resilient mouth guard carried bysaid sleeve and projecting over and partially covering said brush, saidguard being provided with a lateral detent engaging the shoulder on theaforesaid head to retain the brush in `operative position and permit itto be quickly detached. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. i

CHARLES MCLELLAN.

